When you make one part of a system more efficient, or even friction-free, other parts of the system may wear out and break. What do I mean by this?
Making only one cog in your machine more efficient will put unexpected pressure on the rest of the organisation. And this can and will apply to phenomenons outside your organisation, albeit within the system you are interacting with. When external functions are taken by surprise and struggle to cope with added effort, the output of the system you were trying to improve may instead deteriorate.
I've been reading news about the effects of the crash detection feature implemented in Apple's phones and watches, and likely present in devices by other manufacturers as well. It's been shown how often these detection systems falsely trigger a call to emergency services, increasing the load on operators who are trained to take every call seriously. The number of "silent calls" to emergency services in Sweden (112) has increased by 40% in just one year. And last week the 112 service released data from an investigation saying that long wait times _may_ have contributed to 5 deaths last summer.
There is no way of determining the phone feature was a contributor to this finding. But it certainly wasn't of help to the stability of the system. And should raise alarms for continued operations with no maintenance efforts.
Driving innovation through compassion for me means:
* seeking counsel with the organisations/people you are targeting and affecting,
* applying strategic foresight to identify these types of issues before they happen,
* monitoring and taking responsibility for â and being prepared to walk back â ideas that didn't work out,
* working for systems where cogs are monitored and built for harmonious movement rather than disconnect.
Yes, we can find cases where these features have saved lives. But it's unclear at what cost this change is happening, or even how crucial this exact feature was in those cases. It's likely relevant to consider if the ownership of a specific phone should be what determines who receives attention.
Likely there are many ways to address this issue. Meanwhile, accountability is largely missing for the changing work environment of emergency call operators.
IMAGE DESCRIPTION:
Three aligned, interconnected cogs with labels.
Cog number 1 (in good condition).
Label: Phones and watches auto-calling emergency services
News clipping: Skiing triggers crash detection on latest Apple Watch and iPhone
Cog number 2 (showing wear and tear).
Label: Increase in "silent calls" due to false emergencies
News clipping: Huge increase in misdials to emergency services
Detail: Up 40% in Sweden in one year.
Cog number 3 (showing wear and tear).
Label: Longer wait times for people in real emergencies
News clipping: 5 people died waiting several minutes to reach emergency services
#DigitalCompassion #SystemsThinking #ResponsibleInnovation
đ Originally posted on LinkedIn
